Will Andre Villas-Boas’ misfiring forward cost him his Job?

Andre-Villas-Boas

Tottenham Hotspur, and Andre Villas-Boas, spent over £100 million on new players in the summer, breaking their transfer record three times in the process. Gareth Bale‘s sale to Real Madrid funded the majority of the new signings after his fantastic final season at Spurs set him on his way to Spain.

After being heralded as possible Premier League title challengers with the quality of players recruited, Spurs were in a good position to mount an assault on the top four, and possibly higher.

Andre-Villas Boas spoke of the opportunity for Spurs to challenge the top sides after claiming the title race was ‘tight’.

That all looks a long way away right now, though. The north Londoners have struggled in front of goal so far despite boasting attacking talents like Roberto Soldado, Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen. So far, Spurs have scored just 9 goals in 11 league matches, the third-worst in the top flight.

Record signing Lamela only made his first league start for the club against Manchester City at the weekend where Spurs were dispatched with worrying ease. City flew out of the blocks, scoring after just 13 seconds, and put another five past Hugo Lloris to put AVB’s position as manager under real strain. The question is now whether the Portuguese will keep his job rather than how far the club’s title challenge can go.

Tottenham stats

It’s not as if Spurs aren’t threatening to win games, either. They just can’t score. Soldado has been used as their only striker so far but has scored just one goal from open play. His conversion rate is one of the worst from open play in England’s top division; he has scored 4.3% of his chances.

Soldado is one of a trio of Tottenham players that make up the top three worst convertors of chances from open play in the league. Paulinho and Andros Townsend fill the other two spots. They both have conversion rates of 3.4% having scored once each – the worst figures.

This is clearly where Spurs are faltering as, before their embarrassing six-goal defeat to Man City, they had one of the best defences in the league having conceded just six goals.

Villas-Boas is now under serious pressure due to his expensive side’s inability to pick up good results. They have scored three goals in their past five matches and none in the past three. Aside from the defeat to City, they lost to Newcastle and drew 0-0 with Hull City.

The new signings have not gelled properly and some would say they looked like strangers in their drab defeat to Man City. They were lost at sea and Villas-Boas even claimed that his players ‘lost their heads’ after the first goal went in, just 13 seconds into the match.

If he doesn’t turn things around soon, the situation at Spurs could reflect how AVB’s time ended at Chelsea. There are rumours that he has fallen out with some players, but they are just that as it stands.

Jermain Defoe, who is top scorer for Spurs in Europe, is waiting in the wings to play and score in the league. Villas-Boas should think about adopting a new system, or give Defoe the nod over Soldado for the next few games.

Lamela is also a right-sided attacker at nature. He was played on the left at the Etihad and struggled to make an impact on the match. If Villas-Boas shifts him across to the right and played Defoe ahead of Soldado, he may see an upturn in the side’s form.

If he doesn’t change things around soon, Villas-Boas will face losing his job as I’m sure Daniel Levy’s patience may already be running low.